How to make the perfect hasselback potatoes and the hottest chimichurri

One of the biggest food trends of 2017 is purple food. Aside from being pretty to look at, the color purple often indicates nutrient density specifically and antioxidant known as anthocyanins that protect cells from free radicals. If you want to move beyond the standard purple onion and cabbage you can now find purple carrots, purple cauliflower, and purple potatoes. I picked up a bag of purple potatoes from Pick n Pay that promised a creamier melt in your mouth experience. These royal purple potatoes may look different from your standard potato but they actually taste like a regular potato, sorry no extra creaminess here.

If you can’t find purple potatoes you can use any potato to make hassle back potatoes but get something smaller like a fingerling potato.

The star here, was not the potatoes but the chimichurri, which although not a true chimichurri (much like Ina Garten I don’t do coriander), is a great spicy dip that’ll work with Hasselback potatoes, roasted veg, fresh bread or on meats and fishes.

Slice the potato lengthways – about 2cm slices, but do not slice through the potatoes – you still want the pieces attached to the bottom so you have 1 whole potato that has slices in it. You can place the potato between two chopsticks and cut (the knife will hit the chopstick before it cuts through the potato) or if the potatoes are small enough place in a spoon and cut – the spoon will stop the knife from slicing through

Brush the entire potato with olive oil – get some olive oil in between the slices as well. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 30-40 minutes until they’re cooked through and slightly crispy on top. The bigger the potato the longer it will take to bake.

While the potatoes are baking, prepare the chimichurri. To make the chimichurri combine all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth